How to Wash Mulberry Silk

Mulberry silk is one of the world’s finest, lightest and most delicate silks! 

It’s hypoallergenic, super soft, and comes from the cocoons of silkworms who eat mulberry tree leaves. In its raw state (chemical and dye free) it is a glorious pearly white colour. 

And as you might’ve guessed from the above, it’s also an expensive silk to buy, which is why it’s crucial that you know how to care for this exquisite material, or else you’ll ruin it! 

So, how do you wash mulberry silk? Find out below.

 

How to Wash Mulberry Silk

Mulberry silk, like other fine materials, needs to be cared for in a specific and delicate manner! You really can’t afford to carelessly chuck this silk into a washing machine and hope for the best.

Follow the steps below to wash your mulberry silk in the best and easiest way.

Tips to keep in mind when washing mulberry silk

Before cleaning your mulberry silk, you should make a mental note of the following tips:

• Wash silks on their own.
• Turn silk inside out, if possible. 
• Make use of laundry bags when washing silk items. This keeps laundry organised, and more importantly, safe from potential damage. 
• Always read clothes tags to find out specific washing instructions.
• Cold water is great for washing silks, both by hand and in the washing machine!   
• Once you’re done washing your silk, and it’s time to hang it up, you should use padded hangers to protect the fine material. 
• Take off any rings and bracelets you’re wearing before you start the washing and drying phase – a ring or a charm could easily snag this delicate material. 

Machine washing mulberry silk

Machine washing mulberry silk is a convenient option, but you must be very careful. So, stick to the steps below: 

What you need:

• Gentle, silk-friendly detergent, that is pH neutral, if possible. You can also use shampoo to clean silk if you want to!
• Mesh laundry bag
• Washing machine
• Cold water  

Steps to follow: 

1. Pop your mulberry silk into a protective mesh washing bag. 
2. Add the bag to the washing machine.
3. Double check that it’s just silk items that are going into the washing machine – look out for stray socks! 
4. Choose a cold (or as cold as possible) temperature on your washing machine. 
5. Select the gentlest cycle. 
6. Add a very mild detergent to the wash – no enzyme or biological detergents. 
7. Start the wash.
8. Remove the item once the cycle has ended and proceed to the drying phase.

Hand washing mulberry silk

Hand washing mulberry silk is the preferred cleaning method, because you can clean the silk in a slower and gentler manner. 

What you need:

• Gentle, silk-friendly detergent, that is pH neutral, if possible. 
• Sink/bucket
• Cold water

Steps to follow: 

1. Make sure the sink is clean. 
2. Fill a sink up with cold water. 
3. Add a mild detergent to the water – no biological detergent or enzyme cleaners! 
4. Pop the mulberry silk item into the water.
5. Submerge the item.
6. Gently start to agitate the silk garment in the water – do not rub or scrub the item!
7. Rinse all the detergent from the silk garment.
8. Proceed to the drying phase. 

 

How to Dry Mulberry Silk 

Below you’ll find a few different options to try out to dry your mulberry silk. But two points you should always keep in mind before you begin are:

• Don’t wring water out of silk! 
• Don’t tumble dry silk! 

If you try either of these points out you’re likely to ruin, and perhaps cause irreparable damage to, your fine and expensive silk item. 

It is better to stick to the drying methods below. 

Option 1: Towel dry (rolling)

1. Lay out some neutral coloured towels on a flat surface.
2. When the washing phase has ended, place your silk garment on top of the dry towel. 
3. Make sure the garment is lying in its actual shape – not crumpled up! 
4. Start rolling the towel up with the item inside – this will squeeze out excess moisture.
5. Hang the silk garment up to dry on the line or indoors in a well-ventilated area. 

Option 2: Towel dry (blotting)

1. Lay out some neutral coloured towels on a flat surface.
2. When the washing phase has ended, place your silk garment on top of the dry towel. 
3. Make sure the garment is lying in its actual shape – not crumpled up! 
4. Start blotting the garment with a second clean, neutral coloured towel – this will soak up excess moisture.
5. Hang the silk garment up to dry on the line or indoors in a well-ventilated area. 

Opinion 3: Line dry 

1. Once the washing phase has ended, you could pop your silk item straight out on the line to dry naturally. 
2. Hang the silk up away from direct sunlight – this can cause colours to fade. 
3. Choose soft pegs to hang the silk up with – this should avoid ripping and snagging. 

 

Products and Tools to Avoid When Cleaning Mulberry Silk

A lot of regular cleaning products and tools aren’t suitable for mulberry silk. Hence, you should avoid using them during the cleaning process. 

• Avoid detergents that are very acidic/alkaline in nature – They cause the material’s fibres to harden. 
• Avoid enzyme heavy detergents and biological detergents – The enzymes in these cleaners break down proteins found in common stains. But because mulberry silk is protein-based (it comes from a silkworm’s cocoon), the enzyme will attack the material’s fibres and will cause significant damage. This compromises the makeup of the material, and in a lot of cases, the silk is ruined.   
• No bleach – This will damage fibres and discolour the material. 
• No fabric softener – This may leave a filmy residue behind on material. 
• No boiling hot water – Boiling water will damage the fibres and may even cause discolouration. 
• There’s no need to use clothes brighteners – They aren’t suitable for the material’s fibres. 
• Never put a silk item in direct sunlight – This will ruin the material’s colour. 
• No tumble drying – The intense heat will be too much for the silk’s fibres to handle. 

 

Can You Iron Mulberry Silk?

It is possible to iron mulberry silk, although it’s not always necessary to iron this delicate material. 

However, if you are set on ironing mulberry silk you should be very careful when doing this because you could easily ruin the fine material. 

Follow these steps to iron mulberry silk:

1. 1. Turn your mulberry silk item inside out.
   2. Place a neutral-coloured towel on the ironing board. 
   3. Put the silk item on top of the clean towel.
   4. Fire up your iron.
   5. Choose a very low temperature for this job.
   6. Place another clean, neutral coloured towel on top of the silk item. 

1. Start ironing the towel on top of the silk garment very slowly and very cautiously. 
2. Don’t iron for very long – a few strokes is more than enough! 
3. Hand the silk up or store it accordingly. 

 

How Often Should You Wash Mulberry Silk?

How often you should wash mulberry silk depends on how much contact you have with the silk, and how much dirt it is exposed to. 

For example, if you have mulberry silk bed sheets and pillowcases, you should wash these items weekly or every ten days. They should be treated the same as any other bed sheets, like cotton ones, because they’re exposed to a lot of general grime, like oils from the skin.

If the silk in question is an item of clothing, you might find yourself washing the garment after every use. Or after every few wears. It does depend on how regularly you clean your clothes. 

 

Do You Need a Special Detergent to Wash Silk?

Yes, you need to use a silk-friendly detergent. This detergent should be free of enzymes and should not be a biological detergent.